Top grad helps address health-care disparities

The University of California, Davis, thinks Nicole Sitkin is going to go places and have an impact on the world — it has named her this year's University Medalist as the top graduating senior.

Nicole Sitkin

And Sitkin, who earned a bachelor's degree in December, is well on her way.

First as an undergraduate and now working at the university's School of Medicine, Sitkin is already making contributions to medical research and helping address disparities in health care, especially for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) populations.

"She is superlative — a great reflection of Davis," said Diana Farmer, chair of the medical school's Department of Surgery and surgeon in chief of the Children's Hospital.

The University Medal is awarded for excellence in undergraduate studies, outstanding community service and the promise of future scholarship and contributions to society. Past recipients include the U.S. Treasury Department’s chief economist, the president of a Thai university, doctors, engineers and others whose work ranges from seeking a cure for cancer to helping the poor in developing countries.

Sitkin will be presented with the award, including a plaque and a $2,000 honorarium, at the commencement of the College of Biological Sciences on Friday, June 14.

A graduate of Campolindo High School in Moraga, Calif., Sitkin achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.97 on her way to earning a bachelor's degree in neurobiology, physiology and behavior. She is bound for medical school to become a clinician-researcher and study the interaction of basic biology and human experience.

"I want to explore scientific puzzles, but also to challenge health disparities, revealing more about their causes and potential solutions," Sitkin wrote in her award application.

Work at UC Davis School of Medicine

Since January, she has been working as a junior specialist in the UC Davis surgery department's Surgical Bioengineering Laboratory, where she writes and edits grants and other scientific material and prepares conference presentations. At Farmer's invitation, she attends weekly grand rounds, educational forums for faculty, medical residents and students, and community physicians.

Continuing an involvement she began as an undergraduate, Sitkin is a member of the medical school's task force for the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in the electronic health record as a step toward improving health care for LGBT individuals.

She is involved in planning an evaluation of the impact of offering individuals the opportunity to declare sexual orientation and gender identity in the health record. Many feel that ending the unspoken "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in medicine may improve health care and possibly health outcomes for a population that experiences serious health disparities.

Working with Edward Callahan, associate dean of academic personnel at the medical school, she has co-authored manuscripts on related topics, including the development of a curriculum to help medical students gain cultural competency about sexual orientation and gender identity.

She is helping establish a new internship for undergraduates interested in sexual orientation and gender identify in the context of medicine and also creating a health information resource for young queer women.

Sitkin's mentors, from her undergraduate career and now at the health system, rave about her intelligence, communications skills and commitment to public service. They have great expectations.

"Nicole's future contributions to medical science and her community service to improving encounters between LGBTQ people and the medical system are both going to make a mark nationally and internationally," said Liz Constable, associate professor for Women and Gender Studies.

Study abroad and undergraduate research

As an undergraduate, Sitkin participated in Integrated Studies, an invitational honors program, and, like a growing number of science majors, studied abroad. Fluent in French, she spent her junior year at the University of Bordeaux, where she took science and political science classes in French and earned a UC Davis minor in art studio.

During her time at Davis, she worked in the research labs of faculty members and conducted independent research — including one project that made living art from fungi — interned at medical facilities, shadowed physicians, published in the campus literary magazine, played rugby with the women's club team and served as a tutor for individuals learning English as a second language.

Sitkin said she dedicates herself to whatever she does and works hard. "It's the price you pay," she said, "but you get to do something amazing with your life."

UC Davis will hold its 11 remaining spring commencements through June 16. The university estimates that it will confer about 8,810 degrees — including 6,940 bachelor’s degrees and 1,870 advanced degrees — for the 2012-13 academic year.

About UC Davis

For more than 100 years, UC Davis has engaged in teaching, research and public service that matter to California and transform the world. Located close to the state capital, UC Davis has more than 33,000 students, more than 2,500 faculty and more than 21,000 staff, an annual research budget of nearly $750 million, a comprehensive health system and 13 specialized research centers. The university offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges — Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science. It also houses six professional schools — Education, Law, Management, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.

About the UC Davis School of Medicine

The UC Davis School of Medicine is among the nation's leading medical schools, recognized for its research and primary-care programs. The school offers fully accredited master's degree programs in public health and in informatics, and its combined M.D.-Ph.D. program is training the next generation of physician-scientists to conduct high-impact research and translate discoveries into better clinical care. Along with being a recognized leader in medical research, the school is committed to serving underserved communities and advancing rural health. For more information, visit healthsystem.ucdavis.edu/medschool/